To Hell and Back
by Koofins
Summary: An A.U. in which M!Shepard survives along with his sibling after their colony is slaughtered. Focuses on the (mis)adventures of the two, rated M for future chapters.


Jack and Jill

A Mass Effect: Trilogy Fanfiction

Plot: In an Alternate Universe where Jack Shepard has a sister, the plotline is a little different. Jack's sibling survives the attack on their home colony, and she follows in his footsteps, joining the Alliance, and manages to join the fleet on the _Normandy_.

Rating: R-NC-17 (for war-related violence, swearing, death, and explicit sexual situations)

Author's Notes: So, as a forward, I'd like to say that this is all just for fun. This fanfiction is intended to bring a little bit of laughter! It's been a while since I've played the games, so if I get any terms, etc. wrong, I apologize. Did some serious homework for this as far as military terminology goes (it helps having a beau in the Reserves, I suppose!), but again, I'm not in the military, so, apologies if I get any of that wrong. It's been a while since I've posted something to , but I certainly hope everyone enjoys themselves!

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Chapter One:

Introductions

2182

Boarding the _Normandy_, Arcturus Stream

This was going to be a trick. She knew that. But she _had_ to get on this ship. She _had to_. Her bottom lip was getting raw from her teeth worrying at it, but she couldn't peel her eyes off of the omni-tool display screen. Crouched as she was behind the last ration crates, and drying to stay well hidden in its shadows was difficult enough, not to mention she had to keep the anti-virus programs off her trail as she scanned through the military personnel files.

Illegally.

"Come on, baby, come on, there's gotta be someone," she mumbled in encouragement to her search engine. Desperation was giving her a head-ache, but she had to do this. She had to be on this ship. This would probably ruin her military career as she knew it, but there would always be a need for ship techs. Or hackers.

"Looking for something, Petty Officer?"

"Jesus fuck!" Jill shouted, jerking up and lurching forward, away from the deep baritone voice. She tripped over her own boots and nearly fell flat on her face, but managed to catch herself, and rounded on the source. "C-Captain!" she stammered, and quickly righted her stature, straightening her back and bringing her hand up smartly to her forehead. "Good morning, Captain."

"State your business, Petty Officer Shepard," Captain Anderson said, his features turning stern. Jill kept her body rigid, and released a cleansing breath through her nose quietly.

"I'm here to offer my services to the Normandy and her crew, sir," Jill said confidently. She flicked her eyes towards the Captain, a man she'd known since she was a child, trying to gauge his reaction to her statement. As always, his face remained impassive, as he gave her a quick once over, his eyes snagging on her bionics.

"At ease, Shepard," he said, tilting his head slightly to get a better look. "How are the bionics holding up?"

"Very well, thank you, sir," Jill said, willing her shoulders to remain straight with relief. At the very least, Anderson would let her off with a slap on the wrist and send her back to Base. That was the best she could hope for, caught red-handed. Glancing down at her own quarian bionics, she shifted her weight slightly, still amazed that the parts responded to her synapses so quickly, and efficiently.

"How long have you had this model?" the Captain pressed, gesturing with a nod of his head for her to walk with him.

"About four years now," Jill said. She couldn't help but grin when he looked back at her and raised his eyebrows. "I know; I'm surprised I've stuck with these gams this long myself, sir."

"I'm sure your brother approves," the Captain said in a dry tone.

"Uh..."

"Haven't told him yet, have you?"

"No...no, sir. He, um...really liked the turian set. Better endurance over long distances." Jill scratched the back of her neck self consciously. "Quarian legs aren't that great for that."

"Unless you put your tech abilities to good use, of course," the Captain said, stopping in front of the boarding ramp and gazing at the ship. She was small, sleek, a dark thing that would blend in perfectly with the empty void she would soon be nestled in. Jill's mouth practically watered at the thought of being in there, getting to feel she ship around her, running her fingers over her control hub or get a close, intimate look at her circuitry. "Come to think of it, we could use someone with your expertise on her shakedown run."

"...you're serious," Jill said, unable to even maintain a straight face; she outright gaped at the Captain as he turned to her, a small half smile on his face. After a second, Jill quickly took an upright, proper stance, and gave Anderson another salute. He turned to her and returned it.

"I'll send word to the Admiral," Anderson said, lowering his hand. "See you on the ship, Shepard."

"Yes, sir," Jill responded. Before she turned back to the crates she'd been hiding behind to gather her personal affects, she gave him an earnest smile. "Thank you, sir."

As soon as she set one bionic foot on the ramp, her excitement reached all new levels. Jill weaved through the traffic of boarding and docking crew and personnel, aware that she received more than just a few odd stares. Hell it wasn't every day you saw a human chick with unmistakeably quarian legs, and boots, walking onto an Alliance ship.

She could barely contain herself as she had to sit through decontamination. The scanner was barely visible on its track, and the virtual intelligence loop was a whole new tone, much calmer than she was used to. The boarding deck was big; bigger than she thought it might be. _Black is slimming_, she thought as she took in every detail with wide eyed appreciation.

"Petty Officer," a harsh voice called. Jill had to bite down hard on her lip to keep from grinning from ear to ear before she turned and gave Jackson Shepard her full attention. His blue eyes were full of disbelief and exasperation, and she could see the tick in his jaw making one muscle jump. "There was only one Shepard assigned to this ship, andI didn't see your name on the goddam list for the crew," he said between clenched teeth. "You know it's against Alliance regs for you to even be in the same port as I am unless you're on shore leave. And I know for a fact that you're supposed to be working on base. What the hell are you thinking?!"

"I'm thinking that Captain Anderson told me to get on this ship as a technician, Commander Shepard," Jill responded. She couldn't help it, one side of her mouth twitched slightly, and she nearly let out a peal of laughter when she saw outrage flash in her brother's eyes. "But I can go. I'm sure the Cap will understand."

"Just...ugh," her brother said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with the butt of his palm. "At ease," he said in an offhand manner. "Get out of those civvie clothes and into your uniform. Get down to the engineering deck and report to Adams. That's an order."

"Aye, Commander," Jill said, giving Jack a quick smile before scurrying out of reach of her brother's wrath.

"I thought I told you the turian model was better!" he shouted after her.

"Sorry, Commander, can't talk now, orders!" Jill shouted back. She easily picked out his swearing among the other voices before she was out of earshot.

Numbers. Charts. Readings.

She should have known this would come with a catch.

Jill tapped her fingers on the console she sat in front of, eyes tracking every read out, every measurement, with full attention on her job.

Well...mostly.

Seeing her brother again...it was good. Very good. Jill hadn't seen Jack in almost a year now, and he was just as crabby and hilarious to her as ever. A soft smile twitched around the corners of her mouth as she relived the now fresh memory of her last encounter with her brother. She knew Jack meant well. Shakedown runs could end up in disaster. The FTL could fail on them, or there could be a breach in the hull that passed under radar.

But that's what she was here for. Another set of well trained hands, ears and eyes was always welcome on a new ship, she knew.

The sound of boots on the cool metal floors had her on her feet, and she tapped in the command to pause the scrolling of her readouts before standing at attention as the Lieutenant reached her console.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant Adams, sir," she addressed the older man. He gave her a quick once over before returning her salute.

"At ease," he said, and motioned for her to step away from the console. Jill did, all too glad to relinquish it to him. "Petty Officer, what should I address you by? I don't believe we were properly acquainted."

"We weren't, sir, my apologies," Jill said honestly. Lieutenant Adams turned the chair round to face her as Jill offered him her hand. They shook once, firmly, and he gave her a small nod of approval. "Petty Officer First Class Shepard, reporting for duty, sir, by order of Captain Anderson."

"Ah, another Shepard, eh?" the senior Engineer grunted. "I wondered if the Captain wasn't behind this. So, any relation to the Commander?"

"My brother, sir," she said, watching over the Lieutenant's shoulder as he resumed the playback of info. He didn't even review her work; apparently, he trusted her right off the bat. That gave Jill a bit of warmth, knowing she'd already earned the older man's confidence. "Captain Anderson was kind enough to allow me on-board when I offered my services. He, ah, found me on the boarding dock."

"I trust you are aware of the regulations and repercussions if anyone deems this unprofessional, correct?"

"Just doing this for my dossier, sir," Jill said. That part was half true. She knew the unspoken truth of it was as easily visible as an elephant standing on the deck.

"Good to hear it, then." They both went silent when one of the readouts suddenly flashed orange, and he typed in the command to bring it into the front tab. One of the thermometers wasn't responding to the computer, a break in the fragile glass. Probably someone stumbling around in the engine room knocked it with the heel of their boot. "Hn. Got any elbow grease in that omni-tool, Shepard?"

"No, but I do in my personal effects, sir," Jill said.

"Good, go get it and come back here, I'll load up a diagram of the Normandy and get you a new thermo-reader when you do."

It was an easy enough process. One just had to have a gentle touch, and know their way around a pair of clamps and pliers. A grunt might not think that one reader wasn't important, but every single one of them was. Jill knew that. There were a lot of good people on this ship, human and not.

Or, she assumed the turian was a good person. He'd been decent enough to hand her the multi-tool she'd been looking for as he passed her down the hall. While turians weren't all that commonplace where she was stationed most of the time, she'd met them, interacted with them. Even studied them. She admired them for their determination, and couldn't never really understand why so many of her own kind let up a cry of outrage whenever a turian set foot where turians weren't naturally born.

Besides, who was she to judge?

Jill kept herself busy with system checks, running tests to see that everything and anything would always go right. They were holding a small ceremony to celebrate the Normandy's shakedown cruise, and she didn't doubt that Citadel News would be there to stick their noses into it all. A rueful smile played about her lips as she thought of Jack, and his outright bitter hatred for all reporters. Given his history, it was a hatred they'd earned.

Take off went without any hiccups, and after she was dismissed by the Lieutenant, Jill eagerly sought out the nearest view-port and stared out in quiet, exuberant awe. She would never get over her fascination with open space, never shake the humbling sense that the universe was impossibly huge all around them, and that no species in the known universe had seen it all.

And she and Jack had seen a lot.

The death of their parents...the slaughter of their colony. Jill would never agree with her brother, that she had 'seen more,' because she'd been unconscious for most of the attack. She was just thankful that Jack could still function, and had risen so quickly in the ranks, with all he'd been through. Though she wasn't one to turn down opportunity, for now Jill was content with where she was.

"Sir, if I can, could you tell me a bit about this shakedown?" Jill asked the Lieutenant.

"Ask away," the Lieutenant said with a nod. The two of them were doing one final joint check before Adams went to the flight deck, leaving her under his Ensign.

"Where are we going?"

"Apparently to a colony in the Exodus Cluster, place called Eden Prime," Adams stated. "Colony was founded in, eh...2152."

"Human colony?"

"Yep, right on the outskirts of the Terminus Systems."

"Hm, risky. What brings us there?"

"Some ruins they stumbled over, might be Prothean."

"Well that is something," Jill said, raising her eyebrows. The Lieutenant raised an eyebrow at her, a little unimpressed by either her admission, or Prothean lore.

"Well, I'll leave you lot to it," the Lieutenant said, standing up and smoothing the wrinkles out of his shirt. "I trust I'll return to it in the same shape I left it in?"

"Aye, sir," Jill and the other Engineers responded smartly.

_Right,_ Jill thought as she turned back to keeping an eye on her readings. _Let's see how long they can keep their curiosity to themselves. Five...four...th-_

"How in the hell did you get legs like those, Petty Officer Shepard?"

"Slavers broke them when I was a young pup, Ensign sir," Jill said, trying to keep the smirk out of her voice. "Gone through human, turian, and now this set. Why. Wanna trade?" She turned to lock gazes with the Ensign, and then stared pointedly at her shins. "I'm sure we can find a bone saw somewhere in this ship. Maybe Doctor Chakwas has one?" Jill's straight face managed to stay in place until her superior mumbled something about calibrations and scurried off. A dark chuckle ran through Jill as she leaned back, arms folded loosely in front of her, eyes on her readouts.

"Commander's coming down here, I want everything to look straighter than a goddam ruler shop!"

"Did you see him?!"

"Yeah...wow."

"Tell me!"

"Oh Maker, he's a doll."

"Keep it in your pants," Jill groused from the ramp overlooking the FTL. One of it's screens had gone black, and Jill got stuck trying to figure out why, and how to fix it. She heard the familiar clunking of boots on the deck, and quite a few hasty and anxious greetings from her fellow Engineers.

"Evening, folks," her brother said in a loud, crisp tone. Jill chuckled from where she lay, her upper body in the guts of the ship as she aimed her headlight at the circuit board. "Petty Officer Harper! Down here on the double, front and center!"

"Aye, sir," Jill groaned, taking off her HUD and half pulling, half dragging herself out with her legs. One thing she'd never get used to with her synthetics was the fact that they were heavy, and on the hard metal of a ship, they were _loud_. But she didn't have them for any semblance of aesthetics, she had them so she could walk like anyone else. Swinging one leg over the railing, she looked down at her sibling, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Are you deaf?!" he snapped. "Or do I need to come up there and throw you off that ramp myself?!" Jill tilted her head back and laughed, before swinging the other leg over the rail and landed in front of Jack. She recovered quickly, and gave the Commander her best salute.

"Apologies Commander Shepard, sir!" she mono-toned.

"The hell is up with those bird legs, Harper? You trying to be more of a harpy than you already were?!" her brother snapped, getting in her face. Quite the feat, considering he was exactly a foot taller than her, even with her synths on.

"Apologies, sir, if my bionics offend the good Commander, sir," Jill said in the same tone as before. "Can't do without them, sir, or I wouldn't be fit for duty, Commander, sir!"

"You smarting off at me, Harper?!" her brother shouted. He paced in front of her, like a lion in a cage that was much too small, but the glint in his eyes was far from hostile. It was all Jill could do not to crack a grin and punch Jack in the shoulder and tell him to drop the militant act. "Everyone, out!" He wheeled on the rest of the Engineering crew on the deck, who were staring at the whole scene with wide, shocked eyes. That nearly got her right there; Jill had to bite down on the inside of her cheek to keep her laughter trapped in her chest. "Did I fucking stutter?! OUT, now! I'm gonna teach this bitch a lesson, and none of you breathes a word about it, got it?!"

There was a stuttering chorus of 'aye,aye's before they all scurried off. Jack glanced in the direction of the man directly behind him, and Jill glanced his way, too, as he took a step towards the lift.

"Not you, Lieutenant," Jack growled. "You stay here. Mediate if things get ugly."

"Sir, I, uh, I think protocol calls for disciplinary action from the Captain, o-or her superior," the very confused man said, taking a step forward as if intending to move between them. Jill gave him a quick once over: obviously a Marine, few inches taller than her, black hair and dark brown eyes that flicked nervously between her and Jack. "With all due respect, from where I'm standing, Petty Officer...Harper, was it?" Jill gave a curt nod when he turned his attention fully to her. "I don't think she said or did anything in the wrong..."

"I'll be the judge of that," Jack snarled. "I know her type. Look at that glint in her eye. She doesn't take any of this seriously. Do you, Harper?"

"Permission to speak freely, sir!"

"Oh, go right ahead, you little weasel," the Commander said between clenched teeth.

"You are such an asshole," Jill said, in a voice dripping with sarcasm and bemusement. She got a quick glance at the Lieutenant's absolutely thunderstruck expression before Jack drew back a fist, and nearly clocked her in the face. She couldn't stop herself now; Jack was done, and so was she. She grinned, from ear to ear, as she twisted out of the way, and jabbed an elbow hard into his kidney. The armor on his abdomen sent pain shooting up her arm and clawed at the back of her neck, but it was worth the pained grunt her brother let out before stumbling away.

"Commander!" the Lieutenant said, lurching forward. Jack shook his head emphatically as he uncurled his body, facing Jill again.

"Calm down, Alenko," Jack said, panting slightly. He stared Jill down for a while, rubbing his side, while she massaged the kink out of her shoulder. Then he lifted his chin and laughed, that deep belly laugh, and hauled her against his chest. "Jay you are a little shit, did you know that?"

"Ergh," Jill grunted as he ruffled her hair. She twisted out of his way, laughing with him and running a hand over her short hair subconsciously. "Learned from the best, Jack."

"Uh...Commander Shepard?" Lieutenant Alenko said, gesturing between the two of them. "Is there...something you're not telling me? You two aren't...well...you know...?"

"Oh, hell no," Jack said after a pause. Jill spluttered, caught between screeching incoherently in terror at the implications and laughing. "What, you think we're a couple?"

"Couple of jackasses," Jill said, chuckling darkly. She turned to the Lieutenant and gave him an apologetic shrug. "Sorry for the confusion, Lieutenant Alenko. We're not married. Or _involved_." She leaned towards him and dropped her voice to a loud whisper. "Totally not my type."

"Then...what _are_ you?" he pressed, after he gave her an odd look.

"The good C.O. is my brother," Jill said frankly.

"So Anderson really did let you on here?" Jack said, changing the subject before the Lieutenant really had any time to react to this new information. "You didn't, oh I don't know, snag a dead soldier's ID and sneak on board? You know what I do to stowaways, right?"

"Depends," Jill said, turning her back on them and moving over to the engine console. "Is today an odd or an even day?"

"Even."

"Ah, my favorite, you'll strap me to the bow of the ship in nothing but a helmet and my unmentionables!" Jill said pleasantly as she sat down. The two followed her over, Jack leaning with his hands on the back of her chair, and the Lieutenant watching the whole scene in confusion. "The answer is yes, by the way. I am here because of Anderson."

"Caught you trying to sneak on didn't he?"

"That's between me and the Captain and it's his business to tell you, not mine," Jill said, gesturing with her hands like she was shooing away a fly. She glanced at the Lieutenant and turned her attention back to him. _Damn look at those arms. Wow. Some girl is really lucky._ "I'm sorry, Lieutenant, sir, you still look very confused."

"You two really are siblings, sir?" he said after a long pause.

"Unfortunately," Jack said with a long suffering sigh. "We try to keep our unprofessional sides under lock and key, and only among those we trust."

"You trust this guy? I've never heard you talk about him," Jill observed thoughtfully.

"Yeah, he seems straight," Jack said with a shrug.

"Thank you, sir...I think," the Lieutenant said, just looking even more bewildered. Jill swatted her brother's arm playfully before standing back up again.

"We weren't properly introduced, Lieutenant," she said, and saluted him. "Petty Officer First Class Harper-Shepard, engineering crew."

"Lieutenant Alenko, biotics division," he replied, returning her salute. When their hands were lowered, Jill extended hers. He glanced at it for half a beat before grasping it. She felt callouses, and warmth there; his smile was much more natural after he released his grip. "Kaidan, informally."

"Jillian, pleasure to meet you," she said with a wide grin. "Biotic, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"You ever get a headache the doc's stuff can't handle, you let me know," Jill said.

"Ghost legs still hurting you, kid?" Jack said, a hint of concern in his voice. Jill glanced at her brother and shrugged as she sat down again.

"Now and then," she admitted after a quick internal debate. _No use lying to him. No secrets between us._ "When I leave 'em off to charge."

"You can take those things off?" Kaidan asked. Jill nodded and thumped her fist on the side of her thigh.

"They're not a permanent fix," she said with a shrug. "As you can imagine, there aren't many leg donors, human and not."

"I know someone's bound to gossip about it, so why not tell the man how it happened?" Jack prompted, flicking her earlobe.

"Back on our colony, we were attacked by slavers," Jill said, twisting around to swat her brother away from her chair. "Blew up our house with our parents inside. A chunk of the roof landed on me, crushed my legs."

"So now you have...quarian legs?" the Lieutenant asked, taking a step closer and narrowing his eyes slightly as he studied them. Jill hiked one up and stretched it across the top of the console, snickering when the move made his eyes widen.

"I've had human and turian legs, too," Jill said.

"Turian legs were better for combat if you ask me," Jack mumbled.

"No one asked you," Jill said, glaring at him for a while. He made a face and Jill turned back to her console, rolling her eyes at Kaidan in exasperation. "That's what I had to grow up with. Goddamn menace."

"How did you manage to get on this ship without getting stopped by the suits, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Captain Anderson's known me since before I had bionics. He knows Jack and I can keep things civil. Usually I don't go down with the ground squads anyway." She let out a sigh and folded her arms across her stomach. "Although I keep insisting I am fit for it."

"And I insist you should have stayed back on base and finished school."

"Yeah like three years ago," Jill scoffed. "I can study here while you're down there shooting at tin cans. I don't have to be on base, Jack."

"You've got good food there, an actual bed, money, your own cruiser to get around in," Jack grumbled. "You're such a spoiled brat, leaving that all behind."

"What I wouldn't give to live in your world for an hour," Jill sighed. She turned to look at the Lieutenant again. "Really, I am sorry he decided to unload this on you. God only knows what the hell he's thinking."

"I...it's alright, really, ma'am," their 'mediator' said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other subtly. "It's good to know I'm trusted."

"You trust him too, right?" Jack prompted.

"Yeah," Jill said with a shrug.

"That was easy," her brother said, sounding a bit surprised.

"'Man gets nowhere but buried six feet under by lying,'" Jill said, imitating their father's accent. Her brother chuckled before he approached them again and patted Kaidan on the back.

"We should get back up to the flight deck," Jack said. "Joker's probably anxious for some help." He paused for a moment, as he and Jill shared a quiet look, before reaching out and ruffling her hair again. "Be good, Harpy."

"You too, Jackal," Jill said with a smile. She nodded to the Lieutenant, who nodded back at her after a pause. Her brother was halfway at the lift before he spoke.

"Good to meet you, Harper. Shame you won't be down there with us."

Jill sat up a little straighter in shock as the Marine made a quick exit, turning only as the lift doors were closing.

_Oh...did that just happen?_

When they dropped into orbit around Eden, Jill was still trying to figure out what that exchange hat been about. She didn't want to think about it anymore, and threw herself into whatever work Adams could give her. Eventually he told her to take a break, sending her to the mess. Only one old soldier was there, and he only gave her a quick glance as she sat down on the opposite end of the table from him.

With the life she'd had, Jill was used to her situation changing quickly. That didn't mean she always reacted well to it, though. Jill was not against change, but some changes were harder to adapt to than others.

Captain Anderson had allowed her onto his ship, despite the regulations that went against it. Her brother hadn't thrown her out the window on seeing her when she'd boarded, and he hadn't locked her in the brig when they'd had some one-on-one time. Which spoke against everything about her brother, or everything she thought she knew. Jill ran her fingers through her hair restlessly and slumped on the table, head covered by her arms.

Then there was the L.T. … This Alenko guy. Jill began tapping her fingers on the back of her head in frustration at herself. _Don't know what you're so worked up for. He obviously wasn't flirting with you, dumb ass. Get over yourself._

Still, there was a lot for her to process. Despite not being let down with the rest of the ground team she knew she had to keep an eye on her brother somehow. It was her job. Joining the Alliance, getting onto this ship, simply surviving through childhood up until this point. She had to keep Jack safe. She had to make sure he knew she was there, that she was the one person who he would never lose in times of uncertainty.

Even if that got her killed.

Hours had passed. Eventually Jill's mind was clearer, and she was taking a look at the under side of the Mako when she heard the lift doors open and about half a dozen pairs of boots on the floor. Something nudged her foot in passing, and when she craned round to look, Jack stood over her.

"We're heading topside, kid," Jack said, reaching a hand to help her up after she'd shuffled out from under the Mako. Jill grabbed his wrist and she bounced on her feet nervously when she was up, immediately picking up on her brother's urgency. It was easy to see in his eyes, and in his stiff body language as he turned around, jerking a thumb at his back. "Check me and make sure everything is running alright."

"You and I both know it is," Jill said in a tone only they could hear. She glanced around the hangar, noticing Lieutenant Alenko and another marine in the hangar with them, and made sure that her pantomiming of giving her brother's gear a once over was convincing. "What's up? Something wrong down there?"

"Something's attacked the colony," her brother said. "Something big."

"Bigger than thresher maws?" Jill mumbled, trying not to let her alarm show.

"Don't know yet," Jack replied, his voice betraying him a little. Jill hooked a hand into his elbow and turned him gently towards her again, but he refused to look her directly in the eye. "Keep it professional, Petty Officer, remember that."

Craning around him, Jill took one last glance to make sure no one was looking, before she pulled her brother into a tight, fierce embrace, ignoring his armor where it jabbed into her face. After a half second Jack wrapped his arms around her, but they stepped away before it could have been noticed. One would hope, at least.

"Just be careful," Jill said. Jack's hard blue eyes locked onto her's, and he nodded once before turning on his heel, rejoining his ground team.

"You two are related?" a strange, multi-toned voice asked her. Jill nearly collapsed when the turian from before emerged from the shadows, his white tribal paint making his features plain now that he was in the dim light.

"Jesus, how long were you there?"

"Long enough, Shepard," he said in a quiet, bemused tone.

"Then why do you need to ask?"

"It is human courtesy to inquire before making assumptions, is it not?" The turian's intelligent, bright eyes regarded her for a while. "You are a brave and honorable young woman for watching out for him. I'll do what I can to ensure your brother's safe return."

"Wait!" Jill said without thinking when he moved towards the three men as they were joined by Anderson. The Spectre agent flexed his mandibles in thought.

"Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"...it is Nihlus," he responded. "And yours?"

"Jill," she said, nodding politely. "Good luck down there, Nihlus. Watch your back."

"Thank you, Jill Shepard." With that, and what Jill took as a smile, the turian left the ship.

For a few seconds Jill wasn't sure what to do with herself as Anderson briefed the three men as the Normandy reached its drop off point. There was some degree of confusion and urgency in her brother's voice as he grilled the captain for answers, some of which he didn't even have. When the ship circled round a second time Jill grunted, recognizing Jack's stubborn streak when it started raising its ugly head, and approached the group.

"Captain," Jill said, saluting him. The Captain looked at her, surprised for a moment, before nodding back to her.

"At ease, Petty Officer. Wasn't aware you were down here."

"Checking on the Mako, sir," she answered, and turned her attention to the CO. "You're wasting time, Shepard. The only place you'll find answers is down there."

"Y-you can't say that to the CO!" the second marine stammered, looking at her with abject horror on his face. "We're about to go on a dangerous mission, and you're giving him sass?! What are you on?"

Silence fell between them, and Jill made up her mind quickly. Reaching out, she grabbed the marine by his chest plate, and hauled him towards her. Quickly finding the latch to the visor of his helmet, she bared his face to them, and gave the private a quick kiss. It was all she could do not to smirk when he nearly melted against her after a moment of stiffening up, and she turned him around, towards the open hangar door.

"Bet you're ready to take on the world, huh Jenkins?" her brother said, leaning down so Jill could kiss him on the cheek. He winked at her when they pulled away from each other. "Thanks, Jill."

"Far be it from me to let you boys leave without a little bit of luck," Jill shrugged, turning to the Lieutenant. A short burst of laughter escaped her when she saw the apprehension on his face, making him look nearly terrified. "Don't worry, Lieutenant, I'm clean."

"I, uh, that's not...a-are you sure?" he stammered, shifting in obvious nerves. Jill rolled her eyes and closed the distance between them, ignoring Anderson's long suffering sigh.

"I couldn't leave you out of all the fun, could I?" she asked him, and leaned forward. His brown eyes widened when they connected, and shuddered closed as he leaned towards her. But Jill was already pulling away, and she left him breathless and grabbing onto the nothing where her hip had just been. She raised an eyebrow at him as she moved further away from him, and he stared after her in confusion and frustration. "You've all got your kiss for luck, boys. Go get that beacon."

"Was that really necessary, Petty Officer?" Captain Anderson grumbled as the three jumped ship. Jill shrugged and turned to him after the hangar doors had closed.

"Gives them something to fight even harder to come back to, sir," she reasoned. Anderson studied her intently for a few seconds and gave a small nod.

"I do admit, a man feels a lot braver after he's kissed a beautiful woman," he sighed. "But next time you try and get your brother to do what I tell him, try and keep it private, will you?"

"I can certainly try, sir," Jill said, trying and failing miserably to keep a straight face. The Captain rolled his eyes and waved a hand at her as he turned to leave the hangar.

"Can't believe I managed to sucker myself into being stationed on a ship with two of you," she heard him grumble as he entered the lift. Jill snickered as she continued her inspection of the Mako, musing over the fact that the Captain probably didn't know what he'd gotten himself into.

Granted...neither did she.

They had only been topside for what felt like seconds, and Jenkins was now a cooling corpse about a mile behind them. Jack's jaw twitched with barely tamped down anger, as he led Kaidan and the new Marine Williams towards their rendezvous with Nihlus. He'd lost his entire squad on Akuze, but that had been over a course of time, spanning over days that still felt to him like it had been years. But Jenkins dying right off the bat didn't set right with him...none of this did.

He'd seen it with his own eyes. The Geth had come back in full, hostile force, and they were doing a damn fine job damaging this colony irreparably. He sensed that Williams was seething on his left, eager to cause some damage to the robotic constructs. He couldn't blame her. But he needed her focused, fully well knowing how hard that could be in the face of losing the ones you had worked side-by-side with for a good chunk of your life.

"The beacon's at the far end of this trench," Williams said as they headed down the slope. Jack glanced back at her and ground his teeth as he turned his attention to the opposite end.

"You thinkin' that's what they were after?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," Williams said, her voice dripping with acidic intent. Jack couldn't help but grin at her 'enthusiasm' as they reached a bend in the trench.

The thick and acrid scent of plasma shot past him, and Jack darted behind a flat-edged rock as the bolt found its mark. He gestured for the other two to position themselves, as he pulled a surveillance drone grenade off his belt. When he lobbed it towards the hostiles, it only made it halfway through its arch before one of them shot it into shards of metal. _Shit_, Jack thought with a rueful grin. _Guess I have to do this up close, then._

Training and experience kicked in as soon as he came up and out from behind cover. He aimed for the vitals, the view-port (head), the tower (heart), and the articulated joints (arteries). One, two went down with three bullets each, and he worked in near perfect sync with the other two soldiers to take out the rest. When they reached the dig site, however, there was nothing there.

"I don't get it," Ashley Williams said, sounding confused and frustrated. "The Beacon was right here...it must've been moved."

"By who? Us, or the geth?" Alenko asked. A valid question, one none of them had the answer to. Yet.

"I sure as shit hope the colonists made it out of here in one piece," Jack said, meandering over to the last geth that'd been standing, looking down at the still-steaming pile of alien machinery.

"Only if they're lucky," Williams said, though from her voice he could tell she doubted that. "There's a camp they might have headed to. Just up the ramps on that ridge."

"Well, Nihlus should be near that area," Jack said. "Let's go check it out. We'll call for an evac when we find someone." Not _if_. Jack had been a colonist, and he'd survived at only sixteen years old. They were facing machines, not the cruel and sadistic Batarians.

"Change of plans, Shepard," Nihlus said through the comm-link. His tone was grave and on edge, and Jack's stomach twisted some. "There's a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I'll wait for you there."

"Draggin' us all over the place," Jack said under his breath. His quiet amusement was short lived. As soon as they crested the ramp, and smoke billowed out across the open and decimated space, his nerves went wild, and he palmed his rifle once more. "Shit. This the camp you were talking about, Williams?"

"Yeah," she said, her voice cracking a little. "Looks like they hit it hard. God, what a mess."

"It's an ideal spot for an ambush," Alenko put in. "Keep your guard up."

It was a disturbing scene to look at. Besides the burning piles of slag from the shelters and the thick scent of death and burning flesh, there were three more of the strange pillars they'd seen the Geth impaling one of the colonists on. Only...these bodies looked...very off. He got closer to one of the bases, craning his neck up to study one. The flesh looked like it had turned ashen-gray, and lines of blue pulsed on its back, arms and the base of the skull.

His alarm mounted when the sound of metal sliding smoothly against a similar surface and a hiss of air came from the base, and he snapped his head back up to see the pillar slowly lowering. The body impaled on this collapsing stake twitched, and Jack's stomach churned. He took a few hasty steps back until the pillar had completely collapsed, and the cadaver slid off the base.

"Oh, god, they're still alive!" Alenko shouted as the glowing corpse got up and on its feet. Jack watched in silent horror as it seemed to familiarize itself with its own body, eyes flooding with light from within. It wheeled on him when he took another step back, body hunched awkwardly, its face frozen in the colonist's death throes. With a hideous sound something akin to a deep intake of breath and a scream, it came at him. He shot at its head, but unlike it would have when it was living, the body did not stop. It only stumbled, letting out that wretched sound once again, with a chunk of its head sloughing off and dissolving before it even hit the ground.

"Shit, what the hell did they do to them?!" Williams said, her voice shaking. After that point, none of them knew what to say. They took out the first cadaver just before it reached Jack, and it fell in a lifeless heap at his feet. Jack turned his attention to the other two corpses coming at them, ignoring when the first one's hand fell across his boot.

They were down in less than ten shots, but they had been human. And that bothered him.

"C'mon," Jack said gruffly when they had checked the area once over. "Let's get moving. I want some goddamn answers."

"Aye, sir," his fellow soldiers chorused. They made a quick sweep of the camp, taking any supplies and heading up another dirt ramp.

Up over the horizon, dominating the view of anything else that might've been noticed, a massive black ship slowly rose up over the planet. It was clearly taking off, but the manner in which it moved, the build and make of it had Jack's unease only mounting more. Red lines of wild energy crawled over its surface, as if it held a cloud in what looked like claws at the end of the ship closest to the surface of the planet.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Alenko shouted over the roar of the distant engines.

"A ship," Jack said gravely as they stopped to watch it leave the atmosphere. The smoke that trailed it was a deep reddish-black, and it even sounded unnatural. They watched until the ship was completely out of sight, and headed into the forces waiting for them down below.


End file.
